Construction of Atlanta BeltLine’s Northeast Trail Underway

Project is scheduled to take twelve months to complete

Northeast Trail construction south of I-85 and along Ansley Golf Course.
Northeast Trail construction south of I-85 and along Ansley Golf Course.

Atlanta – Construction is underway for the first segment of the Northeast Trail of the Atlanta BeltLine. Georgia Power has begun construction on their maintenance access road between Ansley Mall and the Buford Spring Connector which will double as a segment of the Northeast Trail. Georgia Power will be paving approximately two-thirds of a mile of the Atlanta BeltLine multi-use trail.  Their construction scope will include the fourteen-foot wide trail, an access point at Montgomery Ferry Drive, stormwater systems, retaining walls, and erosion control grassing. This work is expected to be complete by fall 2020.

At this time, the northeast corridor between Westminster Drive and the Buford Spring Connector is closed. For your safety, and to avoid disruption and delay to construction, please stay out of the corridor while work is underway.

Once Georgia Power has completed their work and Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. has identified funding, ABI will do follow-on work to complete the full Northeast Trail buildout between Westminster Drive and Mayson Street. This will include the addition of lighting, security cameras, landscaping, and connections to Westminster Avenue, Piedmont Avenue, and Mayson Street.

Concept designs for the northern and southern segments of the northeast corridor continue to advance. Over the past several months, ABI has performed alternatives analysis to identify the locally preferred alternative alignment for the northeast corridor between Ansley Golf Club and MARTA Lindbergh Station. ABI has narrowed options down to two alignments and is moving forward with studies on both. Alignment B passes through the Armour Ottley industrial area. Alignment E generally parallels the eastern side of the existing MARTA alignment.

ABI held a community meeting on October 24, 2019, and presented updates on the Northeast Trail construction, Eastside Trail lighting, and unpaved trail conditions along Bill Kennedy Way. The presentation with maps can be downloaded here.

In addition to the Northeast Trail, two other trails will be going into construction over the next few months: the first segment of the Southside Trail and the Westside BeltLine Connector to be built by the PATH Foundation. This will be the first time in BeltLine history that three major trail projects will be underway at one time.

25 thoughts on this article. Join the discussion below

  1. Will your belt line path be going through the Peachtree Hills area, more specifically through Fairhaven Circle in the near future?

    1. Hi Maria, our plans call for the BeltLine to generally cross Peachtree Road by Peachtree Creek, but we do not control that land yet, so design is a ways off. However, the Northside Trail and Northside BeltLine Connector run very near Fairhaven Circle just south (and around) Bobby Jones Golf Course.

      1. Jenny- that phrase can be found in the document outlining Alignments B and E. It appears to be a negative characteristic about certain locations on each alignment.

        1. Hi Bert, thank you – I see where it’s referenced. That phrase is used in areas where the corridor may not have a lot of ingress or egress nor adjacent activity, thereby limiting the visibility of the trail outside of the users themselves. While all of our trails have lighting and cameras, we make note of these areas.

    1. Alignment E is definitely superior. No need for the entire Beltline to circle a dead end. An access point is all you to get a cold one!

    1. Hi Megan, it is being built out in phases by the PATH Foundation. I would suggest reaching out to them for specific timelines.
      Thanks!

  2. Hi there! What are current thoughts about how to connect from Lindbergh Marta to Peachtree Road by Peachtree Creek. The past two days of rain has Peachtree Creek severely swollen and that doesn’t touch the swelling/flooding that occurs in Peachtree Hills during heavy rain e.g. hurricane season? Had no idea how much higher the land on the other side of the creek was until two months ago. Curious.

  3. I recently noticed that earth moving equipment is clearing a path on either side of the elevated railroad tracks that cross Lindbergh Drive parallel to Peachtree Hills Ave. It looks like it will serve as a connection to Lindbergh Marta Station. Is this a Beltline project or a private project?

    1. CSX is replacing the rail bridge over Lindbergh. Are you coordinating with them to improve neighborhood access the LIndbergh beltline access. The existing rail bridge creates a choke point.

      When is the next meeting to review options for connecting Peachtree Hills to the NE trail?

      1. Hi Chris – we are not currently working with CSX regarding their bridge replacement. We were hoping to have our next meeting on the Northeast Trail in April, but we’ll see if that moves forward with the current COVID-19 precautions. We’re also exploring creative ways to host meetings.
        Thanks!
        Jenny

  4. Are there any plans for dealing with the extreme congestion on the Eastside BeltLine between Inman Park and Ponce City Market? It is virtually unusable for those on bikes or scooters on weekends. That condition is starting to spread to weekdays, as well.

  5. When will the unpaved area from the south Eastside trail (by Park Tavern) be paved to connect to the area described in this artilce. Is there a timeline set for the unpaved Subarea 6 (runs between Piedmont Park and Monroe by Amsterdam and Dutch Valley).

  6. Hi! Is the Beltline to Ansley mall still expected to be completed by this fall?
    We live in the Highlands and rode our bikes through the park to Ansley but then had to cross the street at Monroe and Piedmont. It was scary with two small kids – that intersecting is very busy and we love going to Ansley mall.

    1. Hi Judith – the paved stretch between Ansley Mall and the Buford-Spring Connector is still expected to be completed this fall, however, we are still determining if / how we open that segment as it will essentially be an interim trail. The segment of the trail between Ansley Mall and the Eastside Trail (at 10th + Monroe) will remain unpaved for now. We will be sure to keep the community updated as soon as we have more info!
      Thanks,
      Jenny

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